John Muir

Joseph Bharat Cornell

Description

John Muir: My Life with Nature

This unique autobiography of John Muir is told in his own words, brimming with his spirit and his adventures. The text was compiled and written by naturalist Joseph Bharat Cornell, author of Sharing Nature, Flow Learning and Deep Nature Play and well loved for his ability to help others experience the joyous quality of nature. Cornell is especially appreciated for his own childlike spirit that sparkles through his writings. The result is a book with an aliveness, a presence of goodness, adventure, enthusiasm, and sensitive love of each animal and plant that will give young adults an experience of a true hero. It is a book that expands your sense of hope, adventure, and awareness. Adults will be just as fond of this book as young readers.

Joseph Bharat Cornell is an internationally renowned author and founder of Sharing Nature Worldwide, one of the planet's most widely respected nature awareness programs. His first book, Sharing Nature with Children, "sparked a worldwide revolution in nature education" and has been published in twenty languages and sold half a million copies. He is the honorary president of Sharing Nature Association of Japan, which has 10,000 members and 35,000 trained leaders.

He the author of the Sharing Nature Book series, used by millions of parents, educators, naturalists, and youth and religious leaders all over the world. Cornell's books, Listening to Nature and The Sky and Earth Touched Me, have inspired thousands of adults to deepen their relationship with nature. Two recent books of his: The Sky and Earth Touched Me and Sharing Nature were awarded Indie Book Grand Prize Winners for Non-Fiction.

Known for his warmth and joyful enthusiasm, Cornell "has a genius for finding the essence of a subject, explaining it in clear and compelling ways, and then giving the reader creative exercises to gain an actual experience."

Excerpts from John Muir

by Joseph Bharat Cornell

A Note from the Author

No one brought nature to life like John Muir. His great love for all living things gave him a rare understanding of the natural world. Birds, bears and flowers all revealed their secret lives to him. When Muir spoke of his encounters with wild animals, trees, and mountain storms, his listeners said it felt as if they were there, experiencing the adventure with him. Muir also excelled at sharing nature through his writings. They are deeply beautiful, filled with wonder and joy for nature. It has been said that Muir was the only person who could turn a government report into poetry!

To stay true to the spirit of Muir as clearly and fully as possible, I have told his story as if he were alive, using his own words and colorful expressions as often as possible. I have, however, simplified and condensed his words to make them more accessible to young readers. I have also linked the events of this story to keep a smooth, narrative flow, writing as I hope Muir would have written. It is, after all, his story.

A native of Scotland, Muir today is remembered as the father of America's national parks. Born in 1838, Muir is considered by many to be the most influential conservationist of modern times. His love of nature continues to inspire people everywhere to take up the cause of preservation.

Joseph Bharat Cornell
Nevada City, California

Chapter One

As Free As the Wind

As a boy I was fond of everything that was wild. And all my life I’ve grown fonder and fonder of wild places and wild creatures. Fortunately, around my native town of Dunbar, by the stormy North Sea, there was plenty of wildness. My playmates and I were as wild as the land itself. We loved to wander by the sea and through the fields to hear the birds sing. We often would run long races through the countryside, to see who was fastest. Or we’d walk along the seashore and gaze in wonder at the shells and seaweed, eels and crabs. Best of all we liked to watch the winter storm-waves crash against the rocky shore.

In the spring we stood for hours enjoying the singing and soaring of the skylarks. From the grass where the nest was hidden, the male would suddenly rise as if shot up into the air. Hovering at thirty or forty feet, he’d pour down the most delicious melody: sweet, clear and strong. Then he would soar higher and higher until lost to sight. To test our eyes, we watched the lark until he was but a faint speck in the sky. “I see him yet!” we would cry, “I see him yet!” Finally he would soar beyond all our sight, although we could still hear his glorious music. Then suddenly stopping, the singer would appear, falling like a bolt straight down to his nest.

A favorite playground of mine was the abandoned Dunbar Castle, which was over a thousand years old. My friends and I would climb its crumbling walls to see how high we could go. If we did something that tested our courage or daring, we called it a “scootcher.” ...

Contents for John Muir by Joseph Bharat Cornell

A Note from the Author 4

I. Free As the Wind 5

II. Backwoods Genius. 11

III. Only Wild Beauty. 16

IV. Favorite Animals. 22

V. Forever a Mountaineer. 27

VI. Snow Flowers, Ice Rivers and a Dog. 36

VII. Make the Mountains Glad. 45

VIII. Fellow Mortals. 52

IX. Nature’s Goodness. 57

Explore More 62

Be True to Yourself 63

One Large Family 65

Joy in the Midst of Hardship 66

This Whole Wide Beautiful World 67

True Wealth 71

What is the Secret of it All? 72

John Muir: Who Was He? 73

Close to Nature 74

Further Reading 76

Sharing Nature and Joseph Bharat Cornell 78

Sujets

• Environmental Protection
• Environmental Conservation
• Joseph Cornell
• Nature

Informations

• Publié par: Crystal Clarity Publishers
• Date de parution: 20 mai 2022
• Nombre de lectures: 2
• EAN13: 9781565895430
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 6 Mo

Extrait

By Joseph Bharat Cornell
author of Sharing Nature, Flow Learning
Deep Nature Play and The Sky and Earth Touched Me
Illustrations by Elizabeth Ann Kelley
and Christopher Canyon
A Sharing Nature Book
CRYSTAL CLARITY PUBLISHERS Commerce, California
Dedication
May we all, like John Muir,
feel a spirit of wonder and joy in the natural world.
-Joseph Bharat Cornell
Copyright 2000 Joseph Cornell
Published 2000. First edition.
Printed in the United States of America
9 11 13 15 14 12 10 8
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted to any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information and retrieval system, without written permission from the publisher.

Crystal Clarity Publishers 800.414.1055 or 530.478.7600 crystalclarity.com 1123 Goodrich Blvd. Commerce, California [e-mail]
ISBN 978-1-56589-075-6 (print)
ISBN 978-1-56589-543-0 (e-book)
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data 00-008827
2022 reprint updated by Michele Madhavi Molloy
Cover design by Elizabeth Ann Kelley
Design and computer production by Andrea Miles
Contents
A Note from the Author
I.
Free As the Wind
II.
Backwoods Genius
III.
Only Wild Beauty
IV.
Favorite Animals
V.
Forever a Mountaineer
VI.
Snow Flowers, Ice Rivers and a Dog
VII.
Make the Mountains Glad
VIII.
Fellow Mortals
IX.
Nature s Goodness
Explore More
Be True to Yourself
One Large Family
Joy in the Midst of Hardship
This Whole Wide Beautiful World
True Wealth
What is the Secret of it All?
John Muir: Who Was He?
Close to Nature
Further Reading
Sharing Nature and Joseph Bharat Cornell
A Note from the Author
No one brought nature to life like John Muir. His great love for all living things gave him a rare understanding of the natural world. Birds, bears and flowers all revealed their secret lives to him. When Muir spoke of his encounters with wild animals, trees, and mountain storms, his listeners said it felt as if they were there, experiencing the adventure with him. Muir also excelled at sharing nature through his writings. They are deeply beautiful, filled with wonder and joy for nature. It has been said that Muir was the only person who could turn a government report into poetry!
To stay true to the spirit of Muir as clearly and fully as possible, I have told his story as if he were alive, using his own words and colorful expressions as often as possible. I have, however, simplified and condensed his words to make them more accessible to young readers. I have also linked the events of this story to keep a smooth, narrative flow, writing as I hope Muir would have written. It is, after all, his story.
A native of Scotland, Muir today is remembered as the father of America s national parks. Born in 1838, Muir is considered by many to be the most influential conservationist of modern times. His love of nature continues to inspire people everywhere to take up the cause of preservation.
Joseph Bharat Cornell
Nevada City, California
Chapter One
Free As The Wind

A s a boy I was fond of everything that was wild. And all my life I ve grown fonder and fonder of wild places and wild creatures. Fortunately, around my native town of Dunbar, by the stormy North Sea, there was plenty of wildness. My playmates and I were as wild as the land itself. We loved to wander by the sea and through the fields to hear the birds sing. We often would run long races through the countryside, to see who was fastest. Or we d walk along the seashore and gaze in wonder at the shells and seaweed, eels and crabs. Best of all we liked to watch the winter storm-waves crash against the rocky shore.
In the spring we stood for hours enjoying the singing and soaring of the skylarks. From the grass where the nest was hidden, the male would suddenly rise as if shot up into the air. Hovering at thirty or forty feet, he d pour down the most delicious melody: sweet, clear and strong. Then he would soar higher and higher until lost to sight. To test our eyes, we watched the lark until he was but a faint speck in the sky. I see him yet! we would cry, I see him yet! Finally he would soar beyond all our sight, although we could still hear his glorious music. Then suddenly stopping, the singer would appear, falling like a bolt straight down to his nest.
One of our best playgrounds was the famous old Dunbar Castle. We tried to see who could climb the highest on the crumbling peaks and crags.
A favorite playground of mine was the abandoned Dunbar Castle, which was over a thousand years old. My friends and I would climb its crumbling walls to see how high we could go. If we did something that tested our courage or daring, we called it a scootcher.
One day when I was about nine, we discovered a way into the dungeons below the castle walls. When we came to a dark, deep pit, the other boys were too afraid to go in. I handed my small candle to a friend and lowered myself over the edge. Carefully I made my way down the rough rock walls. In the blackness I couldn t see the bottom-the hole seemed to go on forever. My friends kept calling, Are you doon, Johnnie, are you doon!? But I couldn t answer, because I was concentrating so hard on finding safe handholds and footholds. Finally I reached the bottom and called out, Aye, I m doon! They were greatly relieved, and when I finally climbed up again, they shouted, Hurrah for Johnnie! This was the greatest scootcher of them all!
One evening when I was eleven, my father announced to my brother David and me, Boys, you don t need to learn your lessons tonight, for we re going to America in the morning! We were thrilled by the news, because we d been reading about the wonders of the American wilderness in school.
My father, sister Sarah, brother David, and I sailed for the New World. My mother and my four other brothers and sisters would follow later, when we could build a house big enough for us all. During the last part of our journey to the Wisconsin frontier, we traveled by ox-cart. Within a minute of our arrival, David and I were up in a tree beside a blue jay s nest, feasting our eyes on beautiful green eggs. The handsome birds made a desperate screaming, as if we were robbers just like them. We left the eggs untouched, wondering how many other nests we might find in the grand sunny woods.
Pure wilderness-how utterly happy it made us! Nature streaming into us, teaching her glorious living lessons.
When we first came to Wisconsin, we lived in this tiny shanty until father could build a house for the whole family. Here is the picture I drew of it.
The glorious Wisconsin wilderness made me utterly happy. It was spring and the land was bursting with new flowers and leaves, and singing songbirds. I was thrilled to make the acquaintance of chickadees and nuthatches, red-winged blackbirds, and bobolinks, and of the many plant people like water lilies, wind-flowers, and lady slippers. For a whole year, I played freely in this magnificent Wilderness.
Chapter Two
Backwoods Genius

W hen I turned twelve, my father needed me to help plow the fields. Carving a farm out of the Wisconsin backwoods was hard work, and required everyone s help. I could hardly hold the plow handles, but I was determined to do as much work as a man could. When I wasn t plowing, I hauled wood, cleared the fields, and cut fence posts. The days were long, and the work was hard. I worked every day, often sixteen hours a day, because there were no schools nearby. Even so, I had a tremendous hunger for knowledge. I loved to read, and I wanted to learn about everything.
In my precious free moments, I read poetry and learned about mathematics. People said I was a genius at making things out of wood and simple materials. I built thermometers, clocks, and a self-setting sawmill. One of my favorites was a contraption I called an early-rising machine. It was a bed that worked like an alarm clock. When it was time to get up, the bed would rise and tip you out on the floor! Later, I invented a scholar s desk. This machine selected a book, opened it for you, and after a chosen amount of time, it returned the book to the shelf, then it would bring down the next book!
People were impressed by my inventions, and my neighbors encouraged me to display them at the Wisconsin State Fair in Madison. I was 22 when I left my frontier home, and with fifteen dollars in my pocket, made my way to Madison and a new life in the world.
I immediately became famous at the State Fair. Crowds packed around my machines like swarms of bees. All this attention was a little overwhelming. The newspapers said I was a genuine genius, but I was afraid to read the stories-my father had always warned me to avoid praise, for fear of vanity-so I just quickly glanced at the headlines then immediately turned away.